Publisher: LaurenceKing in association with Central Martins College of Art&Design

ISBN number: 978185669618

Type of binding: Paperback

Number of pages: 234 with 850 illustrations plus a CD-Rom with templates

Size 11x 8 1/2 inch

Price: UK £ 22.50 US $ 35.00

TSD received an email from the publisher if we were interested in reviewing this book.

The publisher Laurence King is in the UK and I am also from Europe so I responded that I was interested but would like to do an independent, honest unbiased review about the quality of the book since I would receive the book for free.

This book is fairly new (press release was on April 2010) and in my possession for some time but due to all kinds of errands I had no time to do a post till now.

I really like the book and find it a comprehensive book. I do not work in the fashion industry and use only sketches and never made a technical drawing. But this book is a great way to learn how to make technical drawings if you are a student or work in the fashion industry.

You can see the difference between a sketch, fashion illustration and a technical drawing,which I scanned from the book.

A sketch is a design idea, the fashion illustration a look how a specific garment looks like on a body.

The technical drawing shows all the construction details that are involved in the production process.

The book is not about fashionable clothes but gives you a comprehensive inside how to draw technical drawings for garments by hand or by using Adobe Illustrator.

The second part of the book shows over 250 technical drawings of all kind of garment styles and construction details, the key basic shapes are shown together with a picture of the sewed toile in fabric. ( a toile is a French word and is a test garment sewed in fabric in bleached cotton)

For example Skirt Key basic shapes which you can see in this book are: Pencil Skirt/Fitted Skirt/Sheath Skirt, straight Skirt, A-Line Skirt, Circular Full Circle Skirt, Gathered Skirt, Pleated Skirt.

The technical drawings of these skirts front and back view together with a picture of the skirts on a dressmodel.

Since I have no other books with this subject to compare with, I cannot tell you if this book is a useful addition to your library but based on this book alone I would buy it if I needed the skills to learn how to draft technical drawings or working in the fashion industry.

February 10, 2009

SINGER Perfect Plus, By Kathleen Cheetham

Creative Publishing International

Spiral bound, 144 pages, 150 color photos/illusations

ISBN 978-1-58923-394-8 , $25.00

Kathleen Cheetham owns Petite Plus Patterns and in this handy book she distills her expertise for the benefit of petite-plus and plus size sewers. I don’t need to remind anyone that the Big 4 does not address the style and fitting needs of this group of sewers. Just go onto Pattern Review or Stitchers Guild and you’ll get sense of how big and underserved this market really is.

SINGER has added its imprint to Kathleen’s new book Perfect Plus, Sew a Mix-and-Match Wardobe for Plus and Petite-Plus Sizes; and Jennifer Sauer, who many of us know from her sojourn at Threads, served as technical editor; her expertise is clearly evident in the high quality technical drawings and detailed photography. But I’m getting ahead of myself here, this book is not just a sewing instruction book; the first 30 pages are devoted to wardrobe planning. There is a useful questionnaire that helps to establish exactly what kind of wardrobe you need for your lifestyle based on how you spend your time and what types of clothes makes you feel good. I have to say that the design aspect of fashion sewing is to me the most challenging; that is, how to really avoid that “happy hands and home” look and really make garments that qualify as fashion. Kathleen provides a framework for a sewer that really de-mystifies the color and fabric selection process.

The actual process of sewing starts in chapter three, and included with the book is a set of tissue patterns for four garments, a blouse with cap sleeves, long sleeves and two collar variations, tailored pants, a flared skirt and a princess seam jacket. The size range in the patterns runs from petite-plus to full plus size 14 to 24. Kathleen’s sloper for these patterns is a D cup with a fuller tummy, but if your measurements differ she also includes excellent instructions for all types of alterations, including a full bust adjustment. The draft of the blouse and jacket sleeve is really impressive; its a two piece sleeve drafted for full upper arms.

My only quibble with this wonderful book is the style of the patters; it’s on the conservative side and not even close to being fashion forward, however, I think savvy sewers will use these patterns as a base for adding style and detail.

If you’re an intermediate or ambitious beginner sewer looking for a basic petite-plus or plus size wardrobe this book is great sewing room resource.